Denderick’s POV
“Five minutes?”
Logan’s grin widened, his eyes dark and calculating as he watched me. “Five minutes, Denderick,” he repeated. “Make your choice, or your son dies.”
I stared at him in horror, trying to process his words. Aria and Edward. My family. How had it come to this?
For the first time in years, fear stole my ability to think. Fear sank its icy talons into my spine. Logan had cornered me, and I knew it. Five minutes to decide whether to give up his wretched pack or lose my son and my mate forever.
I didn’t care about Logan’s pack. It wasn’t worth the lives of my family. But could I trust him? Every instinct screamed no, but my desperation to save them clouded my mind. What was Logan’s pack to me, anyway? I could give it up. I could let him have his cursed power, his kingdom. What mattered was that Aria and Edward came back to me, safe and unharmed.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward, narrowing my eyes at Logan. “Fine,” I growled. “You want your kingdom back? You can have it. But in exchange, you let Aria and Edward go. Now.”
Logan grinned even wider and folded his arms. “Oh, Denderick, how naive can you be?” He chuckled and shook his head slowly, the setting sun brightening his black hair. “Do you think I’ll just hand them over to you? Remember the deal: five minutes. And your time is up.”
The air was sucked from my lungs as I processed his words. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. The five minutes… I glanced toward the treehouse, fear flooding my veins. The five minutes were already up. Erinne would be preparing to kill Edward. My heart jumped in panic. The realization hit me like a sledgehammer.
“You never intended to let them go,” I whispered in realization. “You bastard!”
Logan tilted his head, his smile growing even more wicked. “Oh, Denderick. Whether or not you agree, it doesn’t change anything. Aria and Edward were never going to leave this forest alive.”
Fury exploded in my chest, hotter than anything I’d ever felt. I saw red, my vision blurring with the overwhelming rage bursting through me. He had played me. Toyed with my desperation, and my love for my family, and never once intended to keep his word.
The deal had been nothing but a cruel joke, and now, Aria and Edward were in more danger than ever.
With a roar, I charged at Logan, my fists raised. “YOU BASTARD!”
The punch landed squarely on his jaw. I enjoyed the sickening sound of bone cracking in the air as Logan’s head snapped back. His body crumpled, dropping to the ground, unconscious from the force of my blow.
But I didn’t waste time. The adrenaline filling me left no room for further satisfaction. I spun around and bolted toward the treehouse, my heart in my throat. I had to reach them. I had to save them.
As I sprinted through the trees, the ground shook beneath my feet. A scream pierced the air-Aria’s scream-and my heart lurched. The sky seemed to darken, and suddenly, a bright, blinding light erupted from the windows and doors of the treehouse.
It wasn’t normal. It was something far more powerful, far more terrifying.
My wolf growled inside me, pushing to break free. I let him. The transformation was swift, bones shifting, fur sprouting as I pushed forward in my wolf form. My paws dug into the earth as I raced to the treehouse, as the light grew stronger.
But then I heard the creaking groan of wood. The entire treehouse began to shudder as if the very earth was trying to rip it apart.
I skidded to a halt, my eyes widening as I saw the stairs leading up to the treehouse crack and collapse under the force of the quake. Splintered wood and debris rained down, making it impossible to climb up. My heart thundered in my chest as I circled the base of the tree, desperately searching for another way in.
But it was hopeless. The treehouse was falling apart before my eyes, the walls caving in as the ground beneath it split open. I was too late.
And then, through the chaos, I saw it.
A figure shot out from the collapsing structure, illuminated by the blinding light. The image burned into my mind; a figure with flowing hair, shimmering with an angelic glow, cradling a small bundle in her arms.
For a moment, I thought I was hallucinating. The figure looked like an angel, her features glowing with a strange, otherworldly energy, floating above the wreckage of the treehouse as it crumbled behind her.
Aria.
It was Aria.
I gasped as she soared through the air, baby Edward clutched tightly in her arms. The glow surrounding her was like nothing I’d ever seen before; blinding, powerful, and raw. The treehouse groaned one last time, collapsing fully behind her as she flew clear of the destruction.
And then she was falling.
************
The treehouse had collapsed in a thunderous crash behind me, but my focus was on the figure that had flown out moments before it crumbled.
In a flash, I changed back to human form.
“Aria!” I shouted, rushing past Logan’s limp form sprawled across the ground. My heart pounded wildly in my chest as I skidded to my knees beside her. She had landed in a pile of leaves, her body crumpled unnaturally. Blood soaked her clothes, and her breathing was labored. Edward, still cradled in her arms, was wailing, his tiny cries piercing through the chaos.
But he was fine. Aria had protected him with her own body.
“Aria, please,” I choked out, cradling her broken body in my arms. Her skin was pale, her face smeared with blood and dirt. Her eyes fluttered open briefly, but the pain was still deep inside her; I could feel it through our bond. Several of her bones were broken; I could see her arm twisted at a grotesque angle. Blood streamed from a wound on her forehead, soaking into her hair.
I called her name over and over again. Edward’s cries grew louder, and I could feel the fear gripping my chest. My mate, my child…. they were both slipping away, and there was nothing I could do. I had failed them.
“No, no, no,” I whispered, my voice breaking as I rocked them both. I pressed my forehead to hers, closing my eyes, feeling the warmth of her skin against mine as if trying to transfer my strength into her fragile body.
“Please, Moon Goddess, don’t take them from me,” I begged. The words tumbled from my lips in a chaotic prayer. “Please… they’re all I have.”